RAID transition costs Adaptec dear

Loss-making storage vendor Adaptec has slashed its work force by 10 per cent and is likely to take a charge of "several million dollars" in Q2 next year. The axing of around 100 jobs is part of a move by Adaptec to edge itself away from the cut-throat, low-end SCSI business, and to reposition itself as a mid-range RAID vendor. Context analyst Jeremy Betancourt warned that the change in Adaptec's strategy - which follows the resignation of chairman and CEO Grant Saviers last month - was risky. "The mid-range storage market is already crowded and all the big names are there," he said. "It is not clear what Adaptec are going to add." But with margins tumbling at the low-end Adaptec has little choice but to throw its hat in the ring. Interim CEO Larry Boucher has said that he wants Adaptec to move away from being a supplier of storage systems towards building components for storage systems. "We want to move out of the box market," said a spokesman.